Closing Summary: A good day in the Greek crisis

Long experience of the eurozone debt crisis means we shouldn’t get too excited tonight. Today’s extraordinary meeting does seem to have made real progress, but the next two weeks could still see some turbulence. And Greece’s long-term economic prospects remain deeply troubled, even if it does get finally some debt relief.

   But this could still be remembered as a moment when the crisis eased a little, meaning the eurozone could experience a summer free of debt dramas. Three things have been agreed:

1) Greece is on the brink of receiving a much-needed slug of bailout cash, after eurozone finance ministers welcomed its latest package of austerity measures, tax rises and pension reforms

2) However, the eurogroup are demanding more work on contingency measures in case Greece cannot hit its bailout targets. A compromise is being hammered out, which means Greece won’t have to vote specific measure into law right now.

3) In a historic step, ministers actually talked about how to cut Greece’s debt burden. However, in the short-term, it is only considering relatively modest changes. In the medium term, though, Greece could be granted longer grace and payment periods. And in the long-term, further debt writedowns could be considered.

Πηγή: theguardian.com